


Miraculous Acceptance

by themistywitch



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-14 18:32:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18481966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themistywitch/pseuds/themistywitch
Summary: Marco is devastated when his grandparents throw him out after his coming out as trans male, and he is akumatized into the villain Gender Bender, and goes all over Paris switching people's genders. Marinette is Marin, Adrian is Adrienne, Ladybug is Scarlet beetle, and Chat Noir is Lady Noir. Everything is upside down, and Marco is stuck in the middle with cuts on his wrists and anxiety already boiling over the brim. Scarlet gets a call from Gabriel Aggreste about a homeless boy in a dumpster, and that's when everything begins.





	Miraculous Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> This is a one-piece, even though it's so long, because I'm too laze to split it into chapters.

Marco walked down the stairs, breathing deeply. You can do this. Just tell them. He took one last breath as he walked into the room where his grandparents were sitting. 

“Grandmami, Grandpapi, I have to tell you something. I’m… a boy. I know you guys raised me as your perfect princess granddaughter, but on the inside, I’m a boy. That’s why I’m always ‘crossdressing’, as you call it. I-” 

“I will not accept this! I will not have this dishonor in my family! You are a girl, and you will stay that way! Or you will go to the curb!” 

“Grandmami! I-”

“Out! You’re a disgrace on this family! Out! Out!”

Marco’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth open in shock. Tears welled up in his eyes. He stepped back as a tear rolled down his cheek. The people who had raised him half his life, who he loved so much, were throwing him out. Marco ran out of the room, crying. He ran out the front door, and down the street. He sat on the curb, crying, wondering where he would go next. He pulled his mother’s pendant out of his pocket, looking down. 

“Why did you have to leave me? I was your son, and you treated me with kindness when I came out to you. Why did you have to leave for New York?” 

Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he started walking towards the tallest building he could see.

A little black butterfly fluttered down, and rested on his pendant. Suddenly, he was filled with inexplicable anger. Why was he so angry? He stopped. A voice sounded in his head. “I can give you the power to let them know how it feels to be trapped in the wrong body. You just have to get me Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.” Marco’s mind was getting blurry… he was feeling very open to suggestions all of a sudden… “O-ok, Hawkmoth.” A black film covered him from his hand, where the pendant lay resting. He remembered no more.

 

“Guys! There’s an akuma downtown! It’s coming here!” Alya shouted in the middle of class. Everyone looked up and tried to run, but it was too late. A boy burst through the door, and yelled, 

“I am Gender Bender! Nobody accepted me for the gender I am inside, so none of you get to be who you are inside!” He shot a blue ray across the room, hitting everyone, then ran off to terrorize the rest of Paris.

Everyone was still dazed from the beam that hit them, so they were very confused when the looked down and saw their genders flipped. 

“Marin, are you ok?” Al shouted from across the room.

“Yeah but I’ve got to- wait, what did you call me?” 

“Marin- I- I can’t say your name!” 

“It’s fine, but I have to go!” 

“Me too!” Shouted Adrienne from across the room. 

They ran down the hall and parted ways at the bathrooms. 

“Tick, I need to transform!” 

“But Marin, what if your costume is changed because of the villain?” 

“It’s fine, I just need to get out there and help people! We need to catch this akuma, and fast! Tick, spots on!” 

In the other bathroom, Adrienne started freaking out. 

“Plagga, what will I tell my father!?” 

“Relax, kid, he knows about the villain, you’ll be fine.” 

“That aside, we need to get out there! Ladybug’s probably already waiting for us! Plagga, claws out!”

 

On the rooftop of the Aggreste mansion, Ladybug stood, admiring his new costume. 

“Not half bad, I will say.” Chat Noir chided as she jumped onto the roof beside him.

“Nor you, pretty kitty.” 

“You think I’m pretty?” 

“Down, kitty. It was only a compliment.”

He was still smiling, though. 

“You ready to beat this villain?”

“You don’t even know.”

And off they leapt, chasing after the commotion Gender Bender left in his trail. Everywhere they went, there was commotion and confusion.

The people wanted to know what was going on, and there were some that were furious. Some were confused, and some were just willing to accept it until Ladybug and Chat Noir resolved the issue. 

After 10 minutes of roof hopping, trying to find the villain, they finally confronted him. He had gotten over 90% of Paris by now, and Ladybug and Chat Noir were ready to end it. 

They commenced in the regular fight scene, but when Ladybug whipped out his Lucky Charm, he got scared and jumped down to an alley, running away. 

They chased him through the alleys and roads for 30 minutes straight, rounding corners and bends, chasing after the guy. They ran all throughout Paris, and eventually they gave up, as he had long since disappeared. 

They parted ways, agreeing to start an investigation and search party, with the other Miraculous. They needed to find this guy.

They traveled to Master Fu’s to pick up the other Miraculous, plus one extra. 

“This is the Snake Miraculous, it will be very helpful in your search.”

“Master Fu, are you sure?”

“Yes, and you will need to make sure you entrust this to the most trustworthy person you know other than the people you have already entrusted a Miraculous to.”

“I know just the guy, or, girl, I guess now. She is the next most trustworthy person I know, and she is sure to make a great hero.”

“I trust you in this, so take the Miraculous and go.”

They walked out the door, and Ladybug handed the turtle and fox Miraculous to Chat Noir. 

“Take the turtle Miraculous to Nina, and the Fox to Al.” 

“They’re in Marin’s class, right?” 

“Yes, those ones. I’ll take the bee and the snake.” 

“Who’re you giving the snake to?”

“I don’t think you know her, but her name’s Luka.”

“Ok, let’s meet on the roof of the Aggreste mansion.”

“You got it.”

Ladybug jumped off to find Clovis. He jumped through the city, towards the Mayor’s house. He landed on Clovis’s balcony, and walked into his bedroom. Clovis was laying on his bed, on his phone. He jumped up when he saw Ladybug. 

“Ladybug! What do you need?”

“Clovis. I am trusting you with the Bee Miraculous. Use it wisely. I need you to do daily patrols, right after school. The rest of us are taking the rest of the time frames. Can I trust you to do patrol every day and carry out your promise?”

“Yes, I promise to carry out patrol every day, and look for the villain at large.”

Ladybug handed the bee Miraculous to Clovis, and leapt off to find Luka. He leapt along the river, looking for Luka’s boat. He spotted it, leaping down to land on the boat, finding Luka in her bedroom, practicing guitar. He wasn’t going to lie, Luka looked good as a girl. He swung open the door, surprising Luka.

“Ladybug? What are you doing here?”

“Luka. I am trusting you with the Snake Miraculous. You will use it to patrol as a hero at night every day. You will help us look for the hero at large.” 

“I’ll help you. I don't know how, though.” 

Ladybug opened the box of the Snake Miraculous and took out the armband inside.

“Give me your arm.”

Luka did as she was told, extending her arm. Ladybug took it, and slipped the armband up her arm to rest near her shoulder. A small creature came out of the gem in the band, taking Luka entirely by surprise. 

“Hello, holder! I am a Kwami. I am here to help. You are to become a hero!”

Ladybug prompted the Kwami to hurry up, as they needed to meet soon.

“Simply say, tail out!”

“Sass, tail out!”

Luka went through the sequence, becoming a snakelike hero in costume.

Ladybug smiled.

“Welcome to the team, Viper.”

He took Luka by the hand, dragging her to the Aggreste Mansion. As they landed, they saw the rest of the team there, talking.

“I’m back! And so is the new member of the team. Everyone say hi to Viper.”

They all greeted Viper, and told her that she got the 9am-12pm shift for patrol, and Ladybug got the 9pm-12am shift. Carapace got the 12am-3am shift, and Rino Rouge got the 3am-6am shift. Ladybug got the 6am-9am shift, Chat Noir got the 3pm-6pm shift, and King Bee got 6pm-9pm shift. 

“I am going to talk to your teacher about this, and he will know why some of you are so tired during school. He won’t get on you about it.”

“I’ll talk to my teacher about it as well.” 

They parted ways, everyone going home, except for King Bee, who went on patrol. 

Ladybug leapt across the city, making his way to the school. He landed in front of the classroom. The door swung open at his touch, and the teacher was sitting at the desk, doing work. He jumped when he saw Ladybug, quickly standing up and straightening himself up. 

“L-Ladybug, it’s and honor-“

“Relax, Mrs. Bustier, it’s me, Marin! I’m here to tell you to please not get on Al, Nina, Clovis, or I for being tired during the day, all of us have night shifts trying to catch the villain that escaped.” 

“Marin? And the rest of you? Who are they? Why do they have shifts?”

“Al is Rino Rouge, Nina is Carapace, Clovis is King Bee, and as you can see, I am Ladybug.” 

“My students? You are all superheroes? Very well, but you all must still work hard trying to keep your grades up.”

“Yes, Mrs. Bustier.”

At that, Ladybug leapt off, crossing the city to her house. He dropped off in his room, hoping the villain hadn’t gotten to his parents. He opened the door to his room, walking down the ladder, then the stairs.

“Mom! Dad! I’m home!” 

“Oh, sweetie, we were so worried!”

Good, they weren’t hit by the villain. Unfortunately, he was. 

“Marin, son, you got hit by the villain! We can’t even call you by your name!”

“Yah, Dad, that’s a side effect of it. That and pronouns. By the way, I have some thing urgent that I have to do for school every day from 6 in the morning to 9 in the morning. And from 9 at night to midnight. It’s very important, and it’s unlikely that I can get out of it, unless I can get Al to cover for me.”

“Whatever you need, son, just as long as you’re careful!”

“Yes, Mom, I’ll be careful!”

And with that he smiled and got ready to take over for King Bee.

 

-x-|-x-

 

Marco ran. He ran like the wind. He didn’t know what gave him the power to run so long, but he ran. After he knew that the heroes had stopped chasing him, he settled down, and tried to find somewhere to hide. He looked through the alleys, finally finding an empty dumpster that was for some reason completely clean on the inside. He found a few things he needed, and then climbed in, closing the lid on himself. For light, he poked a hole in the top, and for food… well, he never ate anyway, so what did that matter? He could steal some water bottles from a grocery store, after stealing normal clothes to put on over the suit Hawkmoth gave him. He knew he couldn’t live long like this, but who cared about him, anyway? He could die, and no one would know, or care. He would try to form a plan to get the Miraculous, but that wasn’t his top priority. A voice sounded in his head. 

“What are you doing? Go back there and get me those Miraculous!” 

“I-... I can’t. Not right now. I’m too scared, I have no plan, I-“

“I’ll give you 1 week. Get the Miraculous.”

“...Yes, Hawkmoth.”

And with that, the voice receded, leaving Marco alone. Alone. Alone…

For the next few days, Marco stayed in his dumpster, crying occasionally, having to shut himself up when he heard heroes passing through the alley or street nearby. He tried to form a plan, but it was going nowhere. He had managed to get his hands on an outfit, so he could at least go out of his home without being recognized, but he had an anxiety attack whenever he saw a hero. By now he thought they were suspicious of him. He contemplated giving himself up, but the thought of having to go back to his grandparents made him stay hidden. By now his chest and rib cage were covered in bruises from wearing the binder under the suit Hawkmoth gave him for too long, and cuts from falling and scratching himself in the alleys. His arms by now were almost cut to shreds by a razor he had found in the alley. He pulled the thin blade across his arms, sobbing silently, but wanting to scream and cry and die. His stomach screamed at him. He had no food, and was as skinny as a nail. He was a mess, and would probably only last 3 more months out there at most. Hawkmoth eventually had had enough of seeing this poor boy suffer. He may be a villain, but he wasn’t going to stand by and see this boy die. He had akumatized him to keep him from killing himself in the first place, so seeing him die would just make that effort useless. So he set a plan in motion.

 

 

Ladybug, or Red Beetle, as people called him now, was on patrol when he got a call from Gabriel Aggreste. 

“Hello, Red Bettle, I need you to pick up a homeless boy at XXXX XXXX. Bring him to the Aggreste mansion. Thank you. He is in very bad shape, so do what you can to help him before you bring him to me.”

He was very confused, but swung over to the alley in question. At first, he thought there was no one there, but then he heard crying from a dumpster farther back. He rushed towards it, and the crying suddenly stopped. He gently opened the lid, and gasped at the scene inside. There was a boy, in a hooded sweatshirt too big for him, but with the way he was laying, he could see how horribly skinny the boy was. There were bruises and cuts all over him, and he was obviously in horrible health. Red Beetle scooped the boy up, and the boy tried to struggle, but was too weak to do anything. Red saw a lot of blood in the dumpster, and was scared to figure out what that was. Nevertheless, he pulled off the boy’s sweatshirt, and almost cried at what he saw. The boy was as skinny as a stick, and you could see all of his ribs. His arms… Red made his way to a hostpital as fast as possible. He jumped down right in front of the Hospital doors. He ran in, and straight up to the front desk. 

“Ma’am, this boy needs help. Please, he’s in horrible condition.”

“We’ll do whatever we can to help, Red Beet-“

“No! D-don’t- I-I can’t go back there… n-not to G-grandmami’s… sh-she’ll kick me out again… and I’ll have nowhere to go…” The little boy squirmed and cried, his eyes open but full of tears and fear.

“Shhh, it’s okay, these are good people.”

“We’ll take him from here, Red.”

After that, Red visited every day to watch the recovery of the boy. It turned out, he had some bad backstory. He was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and gender dysphoria. He was originally a girl, but he wore a binder to cover it up. Wearing the binder for 4 weeks had bruised his chest and rib cage, as well as broken a nerve. He couldn’t feel anything in his chest. He had been wearing it for extensive periods before, and that had also damaged his chest. He had to get treatment for his arms, which were going to have scars, and recovery for the anorexia was going to take a while. But he was recovering well, and after 8 weeks, they said Red Beetle could take him. Red scooped up the boy, and carried him to the Aggreste mansion. He rang the doorbell, and was answered by Nathan, Aggreste’s assistant. He used to be Natalie.

“Ah, Yes, do come in. We were expecting you around this time.” 

Red walked in, and was greeted by Gabriel himself. 

“Welcome. I do thank you for doing this.”

“Ok, but-“

“I will need you to leave now.”

“Ok-“

And he was shoved out the door. 

 

-x-o-x-

 

Marco was taken into the house by the nice hero, and set down. Once the hero left, he was taken to a room with a girl. The girl looked very confused. 

“Adrienne, this is Marco. He is going to be staying with you for the time being. You mustn’t tell anyone, but he is the escaped villain Gender Bender. He just went through a rough time, so be very gentle. He is weak.”

Marco was startled and scared when the Nathan man said that. How did he know?

“What-“

“You two play nice.”

And he shut the door.

Adrienne looked livid.

“You! I have been looking for you for the past 3 months, and now you just show up on my doorstep!”

Marco was scared. He was still very emotionally unstable, and was prone to anxiety attacks or PTSD. He stumbled back at the girl’s harsh words and started crying, running to the corner, farthest away from Adrienne. He curled up into a ball, trying to to calm himself down. He was so caught up in his effort to calm down that he forgot that Adrienne was still there. When she started walking towards him, his breathing heightened, his throat catching.

“Wait… Brown hair, purple eyes, really short and skinny… don’t tell me- oh god, you’re the little boy Ladybug was telling me about! And I just yelled at you- oh god.”

She ran up to the boy and hugged him, forgetting to be gentle. 

“I am so sorry, I didn’t know who you were… come with me. I need to take you to someone. Plagga, claws out!”

And before him stood Lady Noir. She grabbed him gently by the waist and opened her bedroom window, calling Ladybug. 

“Hey, I found Gender Bender. Meet me at the tower.”

They made their way to the tower, getting ready to meet up. When they got there, Red Beetle was already there, waiting. 

“Hey, Marco! What are you doing here?”

“Marin! I-“

“Marin!?”

“Dang it!”

“Oh my god I am so sorry.”

“Well, at least it’s both ways, because I was able to deduct that you are Adrienne by the simple fact that you have Marco with you.”

“Marco is Gender Bender. He was akumatized because he was rejected and thrown out by his grandparents.”

“Marin, I’m sorry I never told you…”

“It’s okay, Marco, it could happen to anyone. And anyone would be afraid to confess about being a villain to a hero.”

“What’ll happen to me?”

“We’ve asked Master Fu, and he said that by now the effect has been long enough that you won’t lose your memory. As to where you will go from here, I have an idea.”

He called his parents.

“Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng? Hello, this is Red Beetle. I have a favor to ask of you. It’s a big one… will you adopt this boy? He is in desperate need of a family- hm? Yes… yes! Thank you! I know that he will be in good hands with you. Yes. Thank you- bye!” He turned to them. 

“Well, Marco, I guess now you’re my brother! Now, where did the akuma land?”

“In my mother’s- wait, does this mean I have to get rid of it? It’s the only thing I have left of her!”

“Don’t worry, it’ll go back to normal after I throw the lucky charm in the air.”

“But you don’t have a lucky charm.”

“True. Lucky Charm!”

Adoption papers fell into his hand. 

He called his parents again, asking them to come to the tower. He also called Marco’s grandparents, asking them to come. 

They got the whole situation settled, and Marin’s parents were now the legal guardians of Marco. 

“Marco, will you give me your pendant?”

Marco handed it over, reluctantly.

“This is where I step in. Cataclysm!”

She touched her finger to the pendant delicately, and it crumbled. The little black butterfly flew out.

“No more evil doing for you, little akuma! Hya! Bye bye, little butterfly! Miraculous Ladybug!” 

The light of the Miraculous lit up Marco’s hand, flying over the ashes of his mother’s pendant. It was fixed, and Marco was happy. He had a new family. And he felt home. 

“Ummm… why am I not a girl again?”

“And why am I staying a girl?”

Marco flinched. This must be because he had been akumatized for so long. He guessed it was permanent. 

“Well… I’ve always wanted a brother!” Marco laughed, smiling, trying to laugh it off.

Marin looked at him and for a second Marco was getting scared and anxious, but then he just started laughing. 

“Well, I guess this is what it is now! We’ve all just gotten used to it, so it’s not a big development.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

And with that, Red Beetle grabbed Marco gently by the waist and leapt towards Marco’s new home. 

 

 

Marco was happy. He had never really felt like he belonged anywhere other than with his Mother, so being accepted and loved in the Dupain-Cheng household was amazing for him. He helped at the bakery; it turned out that he was very good at baking. He could whip up a mad batch of macarons in virtually seconds. This earned him popularity at his school, which he went to now. He also helped Marin with his designs, as he was a very good artist. He would help with the sketching and line work on some of Marin’s pieces. Marin would help Marco with coloring techniques, as that was something Marco struggled with. When they worked particularly hard on a collaboration, they could produce great things. When Marco turned 14, he started going to Marin’s school. All of Marin’s friends were super excited to finally meet Marin’s brother, and were super doting on Marco. 

“So this is the Marco I keep hearing about. What’s your deal, dude? Marin usually doesn’t warm up to people nearly as fast as he did you.”

“Oh, hush, Nina. It’s amazing to finally meet you, Marco! Marin has told us so much about you! You are even tinier than Marin makes you out to be. So small and cute!”

Marco blushed at that. 

“I know I’ve met you before, but we got off on a bad foot. My name’s Adrienne. Nice to finally meet you, Marco!”

“I-I… too many people! Marin!”

“Oh! Shhh, it’s ok, Marco, these people are friends! Say, ‘hello, nice to meet you’!”

Marco gulped, but nodded. He turned to face Marin’s friends.

“H-hi, m-my- I-I mean! N-nice to m-meet you…” 

“...”

When nobody answered, Marco started worrying. Did he do bad? Did he mess up? What-

“Soooo cuuuuuute!”

“Oh my god, you are even cuter than any of us realized.”

“OooooOoooHhhhhHh my goooooddddd you are the cutest thing I have ever seen.”

Marco was very taken aback by this. 

“Wh-whaaa?”

He was so taken aback that he stumbled back, and almost fell on his head, and he would have, were it not for Adrienne catching him in virtually a second. 

“Woah, dude, how are you so fast?”

“That doesn’t matter, what matters is if he’s alright. Marco? Wait…”

Marco was already very overwhelmed with all of the people he was meeting, and being caught by someone whom he was NOT well acquainted with was too much for him.

“Uhhh, guys? I think I broke him.”

“What did you do!?”

“I don’t know! I just caught him before he fell!”

“Guys, guys! He does this a lot when he’s overwhelmed. You just need to lay him down. He is still horrible in social situations, he never got to meet any people when he was with his grandparents. They kept him from any and all people, which made him very antisocial. He’s only started to get used to people, and too much going on at once can really overwhelm him.”

“Oh, that makes sense. But why this? This seems really… overboard.”

“We still don’t know, we think it’s his version of playing dead. Other than this, he usually acts like a cat. Watch this.”

Marin reached over to rub Marco’s stoumach. A soft noise came from Marco’s throat, that sounded exactly like purring. 

“Woah… how does he even do that?”

“We don’t know. It shouldn’t even be possible. And yet it is. When he’s up again, I’ll show you some other things.”

“H-huh?”

“Well, speak of the devil!”

“Whaaa?? Mmm… I’m tired…”

And he curled right back up into a ball and went to sleep. Right on the desk. A content purring sound came from his throat.

“Are you sure that’s a human? That looks more like a cat in human form to me.”

“Yeah, he’s completely human. We even had him tested.”

“That’s a thing?” You can do that?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s new to me.”

“He even does the stretch thing. Watch.”

Marin took the sleeping Marco by under the arms and lifted up. It addded about 6 inches to his length. 

“How does that even work? Is it even possible for humans to do that?”

“Apparently. And he can’t do that unless somebody else manually lifts him.”

“Wh-Whaaaa? Down! Down!”

“Oh! Sorry, Marco.”

Marin set Marco down on the table again, taking care othe be gentle. 

“I was sleeping! Why’d you go and- whaaaa!? Why are there so many people here!?”

“You’re meeting my friends, remember? Then you blanked again.”

“Oh! S-sorry…”

“It’s fine, dude!”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah, bro!”

“Thanks.”

“No need to thank me, bro!”

“Oh-oh! Sorry!”

“Dude, you apologize too much.”

“Awaaahhh?! Sorry!”

“Nina, you’re scaring him! Here, sweetie, no need to say sorry, you’re fine!”

Al hugged Marco, taking him by surprise.

Suddenly, Clovis walked into the room.

“What is going on here?”

Marco hissed at him.

“He hisses!?”

“Yeah, he does. It’s a reflex when he thinks someone or something is bad.”

“That little thing thinks I’m bad?”

“Clovis, that is a human being.”

“It hissed at me!”

“Clovis, he just doesn’t trust you.”

“My daddy told me that she’s the Gender Bender. He said that she’s a girl.”

Marco’s breathing quickened.

“Clovis, this is a boy, plain and clear.”

“My daddy told me-“

“Clovis, nobody can tell you who someone is who doesn’t know them.”

“But-“

“I’m a boy!”

Marco was looking at Clovis with pure hatred in his eyes.

Clovis looked at him with confusion. 

“God, you’re cute. Whatever gender you are, you need to stop.”

“What?”

“Stop being cute.”

Marco looked at Clovis with confusion.

“???”

“Geez, you’re dense.”

“?????”

“Clovis, I think you broke him.”

“Quiet, Sebastian.”

And with that, Clovis marched out the door.

“Whaaaaaat????”

“Well, I think you broke Clovis.”

“What?????”

“Guys, more focus on the matter at hand here.”

“No! No more! I wanna go home.”

Marco clung to Marin, looking away from the new people. 

“Marco…”

“Noooo!”

He nuzzled his face in Marin’s side, tears in his eyes.

“If you stay I’ll get you a new pack of Copics~”

“...Fine.”

“Oh my god, he’s adorable.”

Marco shrunk down, slouching, and blushing. He had never gotten so much praise on his looks. He had gotten plenty of praise of his talents from his newfound family, and a few comments on his looks, but not this much.

After that, it was smooth sailing. Marco warmed up much faster to Marin’s friends than to anyone else he had met. It may have been because they were just so nice, but Marco really liked these people. They were genuinely good people. He knew whenever people were untrustworthy, his senses gave him a hunch, and his hunches were never wrong. These people gave him the opposite of a hunch. Or maybe they did give him a hunch, but a good one. A hunch that these people were good. Trustworthy.

“Well, I think we met a genuine cat today.”

“WAIT. I have the best idea. Wait here.”

Al ran out to the lockers, grabbing something from his locker. He ran back, grinning.

“Put these on!”

He shoved some items into Marco’s hands and then drove him to the bathroom. He shoved him in, still grinning. They waited for about 5 minutes, very suspicious of whatever Al was planning. When he left the bathroom, everyone was almost crying of laughter at the amazing perfection that they were seeing. Al had given Marco some furry brown cat ears and a tail, as well as a collar. They were extremely realistic, and happened to be the perfect color to match his hair. 

“Al, you have created a masterpiece.”

“I didn’t think they would fit him that well.”

“It works out either way, because that is the most amazing thing I’ve seen in my life.”

Marin had his phone out and was taking pictures.

After that fiasco, they decided to catch a movie together that night. Marco forgot to take off the cat stuff, and got several weird looks as he walked home. They called Al to tell him to take the stuff back that night, but he said that they could keep it. It suited him, he said. When they got back to the bakery, Marin’s parents laughed when they saw Marco. They said it suited him.

That night, Marco stressed over what he was supposed to wear. Marin had said that he didn’t have to wear anything fancy, but that didn’t make it any less stressful. Finally, after 30 minutes of stressing, he decided on something semi-casual, but still classy. He jumped when Marin called him downstairs. 

“Marco! Cmon, it’s time to go!”

“Ah! Yeah, I’m coming.”

He hurried down the ladder, where Marin was waiting at the bottom. 

“Well someone looks spiffy tonight!”

“No, you.”

“Cmon, let’s go.”

They went down the stairs, into the bakery, and out the front door. 

“So, we’re seeing My Villain Academia: Two Villains at the theatre. I need you to be calm when it comes to anything shippy that happens. We can draw fan art afterwards, so you can get your shipping out, but no shipping during the movie. Got that?”

“Fine. But expect to allow me your entire selection of Copics.”

“Fine.”

“That includes the inking materials.”

“...Half.”

“That one pen that works really well and all of your markers.”

“Deal.”

And with that deal made, they walked the rest of the way to the theater. When they rounded the corner to the building, they saw the rest of the group. Al was in a simple white button down shirt with an orange tie. Nina was in a bright blue dress with orange flowers at the heart. Adrienne had a simple green shirt with a black tulle skirt and a black cardigan, topped off with a pair of black cat ears. 

“You all look great tonight!”

“The same could go for you, Marco!”

Marco himself was wearing a white button down shirt with a red tie and a black suit jacket. He did indeed look quite spiffing. 

“Th-thanks!”

“And you included the ears I gave you! Nice touch!”

Marco was indeed wearing the furry ears Al had given him. He really liked them, actually.

“Hey! Cat buddies!” Adrienne ran over to where Marco was and tapped his ears. Marco laughed and tapped Adrienne’s cat ears in return.

“Wait! I need a picture of this!”

Al pulled out his phone, and swiped to the camera. Adrienne and Marco smiled for the camera, touching the ears of the other. 

“That is so cute. I’m posting this on the Ladyblog.”

“But Alya, That has nothing to do with Lady-“

“Hush, child, this is the boy Ladybug saved having a great recovery.”

“...”

“If you’re that desperate to post it somewhere, do it on instagram or something.”

“I don’t have as many followers on there.”

“Al, you are an untamed beast.”

“Why do you want people to see me? I have an ugly face.”

“Hushhshshksbd No one talks bad about mah child.”

“Not even me?” Marco chided.

“Not even you, child.”

And with that, they proceeded to walk into the theater, buy tickets, and get into their seats.

The movie was amazing, as Marco kept saying over and over. 

“The animation, the characters, the expression, the-“

“You are such a weeb.”

“I’m a sucker for Kiribaku.”

“So you admit it.”

“Yes I flipping do. That is best ship by far.

“Eh, I’m more of a Tododeku kinda guy.”

“I like Kamisero.”

“You guys are all missing out on the true ship, Deku and happiness.”

“True. That is a valid ship. But not as good as TSUCHAKO!”

They argued all the way to the restaurant, where they had seats reserved for them. They opened the door, still actively debating the ships. They quieted down while being seated, but started right back up where the left off when the waiter left. 

“I tell you, Kirishima and Bakugo just balance each other out. They’re perfect.”

“Yes, I agree, but they aren’t the main characters. Todoroki and Izuku are. They are just soft bois and deserve all the love.”

While they debated this topic, the waiter came up and was ready to ask for dinner orders, but the group was so immersed in their argument that they didn’t notice. Only when he cleared his throat did they notice him. He was right behind Marco, so it scared the crap out of him when the waiter cleared his throat. He jumped in his seat, turning abruptly.

“Oh! Didn’t see you there, sir! Um…”

“May I have your orders?”

Everyone ordered what they wanted, each taking their turn. After they ordered, they decided not to start up the debate again, for fear of that fiasco happening a second time.

They ate dinner, enjoying the food very much. After they finished eating, they paid, splitting the bill evenly between them. As they left, they decided on a time and place to meet again, and then parted ways. Marco and Marin split off of the group to walk towards the bakery. When they rounded the corner on the road there, Marin spoke up.

“So… what do you think we should draw?”

“Oh, I’m thinking a big spread; all of them bursting out of one spot, with Deku as the focus point.”

“That sounds ambitious, are you sure?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m selling this online.”

“Marco, that’s… actually a good idea.”

“I know, right?”

“Don’t go getting full of yourself.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I know I suck at this.”

“No self deprecating comments. We’ve talked about this.”

“Ah, poo.”

And with that, they opened the door of the bakery and headed up the stairs. They climbed the ladder to Marin’s room and sat down on the bed, after grabbing a large sketchbook. Marco traced out the general design, a character in front and many others in the background, and the title of the show on top. 

“Nice, who’s gonna be where?”

“Well, we put Deku in front, then Bakugo and Todoroki right behind. After that, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero, followed by Uraraka and Iida. In the background, we fit the rest of the class.”

“Impressive. And this is the final draft before we go to sketching?”

“Yup. After that, I’ll ink it, and you color.”

“Cool. Let’s get to it!”

They started sketching the details of the characters, such as the costumes, hair, and faces. They started in front, with Deku, then Bakugo, then Todoroki, and so on. Once they finished that, Marco took over with an inking pen and took about 2 hours inking the entire thing. Then Marin went in with the markers and finished it off with color. They stood back and admired their work. It was truly amazing, what they could do when they put their heads together. 

And finally, Marin felt home.


End file.
